Drilling-packer for oil-wells



- (No Model.)

B. MASSETH.

DRILLING PACKER` FOR OIL WELLS.

Patented Aug. 9, 1887.

No, 367,824.l

UNITED I STATES PILYIENT OFFICE.

oRrLLlNei-Fnac:KERv Foa OIL-WELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part @Letters Patent No.3e'1,8z4.'datd August 9.1887.

Application tiled January ".29, 1837. Serial No. 225,849. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN MAssnrH, of Karns City, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Drilling-Packers for Oil- Wells; and I do hereby declare the following v to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to an improvement in the construction of oil and gas weils and in packing devices used therein. It is illustrated vin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the entire packing device, including an upper and a lower customary, after drilling below the fresh-water` veins, to insert a string of casing, so as to shut The tools are then inserted within this casing, and a hole of less diameter. is drilled down to a point below the salt-water` A second string lof casing is lthen let'- off the water.

veins.

' down'into the well, extending from the top of the well within the first casing to the bottom of the hole. This casing confines the salt-water and excludes it from the hole below. The rep mainder of the well is drilled down below the` The dis-l, advantage of this method of drilling is that it` requires the use of a large amount of casing,l and by reason of the fact that the second cas;

second casing by tools let through it.

ing extends from below the salt-water veins entirely to the top of the well any -gas which may be produced between these points and which might otherwise be utilized is wasted; In the practice of my invention, after drilling to a point below the fresh water and having cased it off, I drill again to a point below the level of the salt-water, as before described.

I then insert intothe hole a sufiicient number of casing-sections to extend from the bottoml of the hole to a point just above the salt-water. These sections are provided with two packing;

devices, one at the base and the other at or near the top, and when these packers are setlInstead ol the rubber packer at the base, the casthe salt-water is confined between them.

ing may be otherwise sealed at that .point-for .n expense.

example, by means of sediment placed at the bottom of the hole, the` casing being driven into the sediment. The hole is thendrilled down through the. packed casing-sections as much farther as may be desired. The packingeasing then rests on and is supported by a ledge at its base, and is therefore very firmly held in place, and by reason of the fact that it only extends alittle above t-he level of the salt- Water it is of comparatively small weight and By reason of the fact, also, that the packer does not extend up to the'level of the ground it affords an unobstructed exit for gas 6 5 escaping above the salt-water.

I shall now describe the construction of the apparatus which I prefer to use in the practice of this method of drilling, and shall first describe the upper packer, and shall then pro- 7o ceed to the description of the lower packer and l the mode of adjusting both packers.

In the drawings, 2 represents a section of the oil-well casing. The upper packer consists of two rubber tubes, 3 and 4. The lower tube, 75

`4, is fitted within the mouth of a collar, 5,

which is screwed to the casing 2, and a fol- `lower, 6, interposed between the casing and *,the end ofthe packer, where it lits within the Acollar 5, serves to hold the packer in place. Se .The upper end of the tube 4 is interiorly beveled or flared. The upper packer-tube,'3, fits loosely around the casing 2, and at its lower end is conical or wedge-shaped and lits within the flared mouth of the ring 4. Above the ring S 5 3, and resting on its squared upper edge, is a lead ring, 7, which fits loosely around the casing 2.

8 is a conical wedge havinga hollow cylindrical bore. At the lower end it iits around the casing 2, and is secured thereto by means of screw-threads 9. These screw-threads are few in number or shallow, so that they may be easily broken by jarring on the wedge 8. I 4The widest part of the wedge 8 is uppermost, 9 5 and its outer surface is preferably provided with a series of upwardly-directed annular teethtor ridges, b. .The function of the wedge 8 is to expand the packing-rings in the Inanner which I shall hereinafter describe., lts 10o upper end is thickened and provided with a seat, as atc, for the operation of the jarring tools.

14 is a ring made, of cast-iron or some other easily'frangiblc material, which is set within inthe recess between the ends of adjoining sections of the casing 2. It isto this ring that the tool by which the casing is lowered into the well is attached. This tool is shown in Fig. 2. It consists ofa stock, 1S, whose upper end is threaded at d to adapt it to be attached to the string of drilling-tools. At the lower end of the stock there is a piece of tub ing, 19, which is provided with an annular projeeting flange or nut, e. This tubing is fitted within the ring, and the flange is on the under side of the ring. The flange thus supports all the sections ot' the packing-easing, and when the stock is secured to the drilling-tools it affords means whereby the whole apparatus may be lowered into the well.

In order to provide for the passage of the apparatus through the water in the well-hole, I perfor-atc the tubing 19 with holes f above the flange cand above the ring 14. The water rushes through these holes when the casing is lowered, and so offers no obstruction to it. Near the top of the stock 1S is an annular collar, 20, which is adapted to rest upon the top of the wedge S on the seat c. lt is by means of this collar that the wedge is forced down to expand the packers.

I do not desire to limit myself to the peculiar annular shape of the ring 14, since any frangible seat arranged in an analogous way inside the casing may be substituted.

I shall now describe the construction of the lower packer, which is also provided with two packing-rings, and 11. The upper packing-ring, 10, is secured to a collar, 1.2, which is screwed to the lower end of one of the scctions of the casing, and is also screwed to the upper end of the casing-section next below. The' lower packing-ring, 11, is affixed to the upper end of a collar, 15,which is screwed t0 the section of casing 16 below the casing-scction 2, and fits around it, as shown in the drawings. The collar is loosely mounted on the casing 2; but it is preferably provided with frangible wooden pins 17, which pass through the casing 2, the casing 16, and the collar 15, so as to hold these 'parts together firmly enough to enable the casing to be lowcred into the well, but not so firmly that they may not be broken by jarring. The lower end of the casing 2 is preferably provided with a shoulder, g, which is adapted to engage with the corresponding shoulder, g', on the collar 15, and to hold. the parts together if the pins should accidentally break.

The operation of the device is as follows: In order to pack the easing the tool 18 is first secured to the ring 14, and the casing is then lowered into the well until its lowest section, 16, rests upon the bottom ofthe hole, as shown in Fig. 1. The lower packer in first adjusted. This is donc byjarri ng upon the ring 14, (shown in Fig. 2,) and the effect of this jarring is to break the wooden pins which connect the easing 2 with the collar 15, and to cause the casing 2, carrying with it the packing-ring 10, to

descend within the section 16 and within the collar 15. The action ofthe wedge-shaped end of the ring 10 upon the flared mouth of the ring 11 forces the latter outward against the side of the well, so as to pack it, as will be readily understood. After the packing is finished, the ring 14 is broken by jarring upon it'with increased force. In order to pack the upper packer it is necessary to break the connection between the wedge S and the easing 2. This is done byjarring upon the scat c at the upper end of the wedge sufficiently hard to break the thread 9. \Vhen this th read is broken, further jarring upon the seat c will exert a downward pressure upon the ring 7 and will force the paekingring 3 downward between the outside of the casing and the inside ofthe ring 4, so as to bulge the latter ring outward against the side ofthe well. After' a time thc resistance of the ring 4: to the further descent of the ring 3 causes the lower end of the wedge 8 to enter the space between ring 7 and the outside of the casing 2. After spreading the ring 7 the wedge 8 will enter, forcing itself between the ring 3 and casing 2, and will expand the ring 3 outwardly against the side of the well.

The packing produced by this device is very solid and effective, and the use of the two rings in the upper and lower packers is of great benefit in producing this result. I do not desire to limit myself solely to the use of these double packing-rings; nor do I claim them specifically herein, since I have made them the subject-matter of a separate application for Letters Patent.

In packing wells I have found that there is danger of the packer-casing becoming displaced by reason of upward pressure ot' water and gas, and by reason of the fact that in drilling the tools are apt to loosen the easing by striking against it. To prevent this I have devised an arrangement of catches or dogs, 21, which are pivotally set in recesses on the outside ofthe apparatus with their points uppermost. They are provided with springs 22 or like mechanism for projecting them. In lowering the packer-casing into the well these dogs offer little or no resistance; but if any upward force be exerted on the casing -the dogs will catch on the sides of the well and will prevent the casing from being raised.

The use of the lead ring 7 is of great importance, because it protects the upper edge of the ring 3 during the packing operation and enables the action of thc jarring after the threads 9 are broken to be exerted in forcing the ring 3 within the ring 4; before the wedge enters the space inside the packingrinfr.

One of the principal features of advantage of the whole packer is that it can be packed by the ordinary drillingtools and does not need the easing to be extended to the top of the well to manipulate it.

1. The method hereinbefore described of constructing deep wells, which consists in drill- IOO ing to a point below the level of the salt-water veins, then inserting a casing into the hole with its lower end below and with its upper end above the salt-water veins, sealing the space between the casing and well both above and below the salt-water veins, and then drilling through this casing, substantially as and for theppurposes described.

2. A packer for deep-well casings, consisting in the combination, with the casing, of an expansible packer-ring surrounding the casing, and a cone secured-to the casing above the packer-ring by a frangible connection, 9, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. A packer for deep-well casings, consisting in the combination, with the casing, of an expansible packer-ring, a cone mounted above the packer-ring, and a lead ring, 7, interposed between the cone and the packerring, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination, with a packer and the casing to whichV it is applied, of upwardly-directed dogs pivotally mounted on the casing, substantiall y as and for the purposes described.

5. The combinationLwith a packer and the casing to which it is applied, of upwardly-directed dogs pivotally mounted on the casing, and springs for projecting them outward, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination, with a packer-casing,

ot' a packing-ring arranged on one section, 16,

ofthe casing, and a cone for expanding the ring, mounted on another section, 2, of the casing,arranged to move telescopicall y on the section 16, a frangible ring, 14, securedto the section 2, and atool connected with the ring, whereby the casing is lowered into the well and is jarred, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. In a packer-casing, a frangible ring, 14, secured therein, and a tool attached to the ring and having a perforated hollow portion extending above the ring, substantially as and for the purposes described.

8. In a packer-casing having an upper and a lower packer, a cone for expanding the upper packer, a frangible ring, 14, secured to the casing to afford means for expanding thelower packer, a cone for expanding the upperpacker, and a tool connected with the said frangible ring and having a shoulder which is arranged to bear on said cone, substantially as and for the purposes described.

9. The combination, with a packer-casing, of a packing-ring arranged on one section, 16, of the casing, a cone for expanding the ring, mounted on another section, 2, thereof, which section 2 is arranged to move telescopically on the section 16, and a frangible connection, 17, uniting the said sections, substantially as and for the purposes described. Y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of January, A. D. 1887.

BENJAMIN MASSETH.

Witnesses: THOMAS W. BAKEWELL, JAMES H. BAKEWELL. 

